In Dreams
by DragonGirlYumi
Summary: Lyra Onyx was your just an average teenager until something happened that changed her entire life. Now she's stuck in the middle of a war she was no reason to be a part of. All because of one strange dream.
1. Dreams Can't Be Real, Right?

**In Dreams**

Summary: Lyra Onyx was your just an average teenager until something happened that changed her entire life. Now she's stuck in the middle of a war she was no reason to be a part of. All because of one strange dream.

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers of any of its characters. All I own is Lyra and this idea. Also a special thanks to my new beta-reader Blackwing.Rose.

Thoughts: _'words'  
_Speaking: "words"  
Dream Sequence: _/words/_

**Chapter One:** _Dreams Can't Be Real...Right?_

The sun had long since set over the city of Tranquility. The inhabitants were all sleeping peacefully in their homes, and all seemed to be well. The tranquil silence was unbroken in all of the city... save for one small house on the outskirts of the town. In that house, a single light was coming from the upstairs bedroom of the home's single occupant.

Lyra Onyx sat up in her large, king-sized bed, trembling. Her knees were drawn up to her body and her breathing was ragged; long red hair spilled in a silken mass down her small frame as she attempted to calm herself down. "Just a dream. It was just a dream. Calm down, calm down." Hearing herself speaking aloud seemed to do a lot to calm the young woman's nerves. Still...

She sighed, pushing her long hair away from her tired eyes as she took in the room around her and continued to breathe calmly in an attempt to slow her heart rate. She had only just been awakened from one of the single most frightening nightmares she had ever experienced. The dream was still fresh in her mind as she sat awake. Slowly, her shaken mind began to replay the dream for her to analyze.

_/The city was on fire. Even the tallest of the buildings lay in ruins, making the once beautiful city look like a tomb. Flames still shot from the few buildings that did stand as a few brave firefighters fought to control the blaze. However, they were outnumbered, those brave men and women. The buildings were being destroyed by a group of malevolent beings with crimson eyes that wanted nothing more than the total destruction of the human race. They were opposed by another group of similar beings, only these had shades of blue in their eyes. The feeling they gave off was peaceful - they wanted to help, but would only bring more destruction with their presence. Still, the two sides clashed fiercely, each trying to gain the upper hand on the other.  
_

_One of the blue eyed ones, taller than the rest and blue and red in color, was grappling with one of the crimson-eyed creatures valiantly. The creature was only a little smaller than he was, completely black in color and with sharp, propellor-like wings coming from his back, but he was definitely frightening. The two continued fighting and the larger creature was shoved away from the smaller one and into the lone firetruck that remained to put out the fire. A voice that sounded strangely like her own called out when this happened._

_"**No!** Optimus, the firefighters!"_

_The large bot, obviously called Optimus, began to turn - but the evil one turned on him and dragged him away from the humans. "Hah! That's what you get for siding with these pathetic fleshlings!" The girl that sounded like her cringed but began to run towards the skidding firetruck. Another girl came up next to her at a dead run. She had long black hair and eyes so blue that they shone._

_"Lyra, we have to move that truck before those guys get themselves killed!"_

_Her own voice answered back. "I know, Mikaela - they're not going to like this, though."_

_The other girl flashed her a smile before her eyes set in determination. "I can handle Ratchet. Lets do this!"_

_They arrived at the truck and nodded to one another, linking hands. Immediately, a pale blue light came from their joined hands and shot out at the failing firetruck. The firefighters that had fallen were healed and the fire engine was suddenly wrenched away from the ground and gently placed several feet away so that the brave firefighters were relatively safe. Both girls collapsed and a male's voice called out to them._

_"Mikaela! Lyra! Hold on, we're coming!" They could see a young boy with brown hair and concerned brown eyes running towards them with a yellow 'bot running behind him. They also heard the large one from before call out frantically to them._

_**"Lyra!"** This was followed by a different voice yelling for the other girl. **"Mikaela!"**_

_However, it was too late - both of them were completely drained and Mikaela was already unconscious. In fact, she did not seem to be breathing at all. It looked like doing this had nearly killed them... both of them were dying. Before she, too, sunk into the darkness, the large creature from before could be seen standing over them, his crimson eyes shining._

_"It ends now,fleshlings! **Die!**"/_

As he brought down his cannons to deliver the final blow, the dream faded around the edges and she had woken up. Lyra shook her head hard as if trying to rid her mind of the horrible dream. What had it meant? Who were the people in the dream? She had obviously known them... She shook her head again. "A dream Lyra, only a dream. It wasn't real and neither were those people."

She nodded to herself and then, forcibly, put the dream out of her mind. After all, she started her senior year of high school in only a few hours and needed to sleep so that she would be ready. Lying back down in her bed, she reached over and turned off her bedside lamp. In a few minutes, she was asleep again, all thoughts of her nightmare left far behind her.

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So what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Please review. Be kind though, this is my first attempt at a Transformers story.

_**Next chapter:** Lyra starts back to school and a familiar face appears on the scene along with a certain yellow Camaro._


	2. When Dreams Become Reality

**Chapter Two:** _When Dreams Become Reality_

Several hours later Lyra was up again and getting herself ready for the new year. Despite the nightmare the evening before, she was excited about returning to school. She had not seen any of her friends since before the break and was anxious to talk to them about some of the things that had happened to her over the summer. Pulling her long red hair back into a low ponytail and pulling on her favorite pair of faded blue jeans, along with a shirt - black, button-up, and sleeveless- Lyra quickly ran down the stairs for breakfast. Grabbing a few pieces of toast and her bag, she darted towards the front door, yelling a _'good morning'_ out to her mother as she did so. Hitting the driveway at a dead run she hopped into her new car; a dark purple 2007 Lamborghini. Pulling out of the driveway, she quickly headed for school.

Less than ten minutes later she pulled up into the packed parking lot of Tranquility High School and parked next to a bright yellow 2007 Camaro. Smiling to herself as she got out, she could not help but comment at the young man who was just getting out of the car. "Nice car, Sam. It is Sam, isn't it?" She'd had him in a few classes since sophomore year. She remembered when he had been trying to sell his grandfather's old glasses in order to get the money for a car. It seemed he had done well...

Sam Witwicky turned at the sound of someone talking to him. He couldn't help but smile at the comment about his Autobot friend. Upon turning around, he saw that an incredibly attractive redhead had been the one to make the comment, so he nodded and answered. "Thanks; yours is nice, too." He wasn't lying, either; the girl had a really hot car. When she just smiled at him he could not help but blush since even after almost three years with his girlfriend, Mikaela Banes, he still had a hard time talking to girls. Shaking his head hard, he managed to continue the conversation. "Anyways...yeah, it's Sam. I don't think I remember your name though. Do we have classes together or something?"

Lyra grinned at him. She had noticed the blush. "We do. Actually, we've had several classes together since the tenth grade. I was in the class with you when you did the report about your grandfather. My name is Lyra - Lyra Onyx." Lyra got a good look at the young man in front of her then and had to blink hard. He looked just like one of the people in her dream. _'It couldn't be. It's probably just a coincidence.'_

Sam tilted his head to the side as he eyed her quizzically. She had suddenly grown pale, and he could not help but ask about it. "Hey, Lyra, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." He took a few steps towards her as he spoke, clearly worried. After all, she seemed nice - and since Mission City, two years beforehand, he and Mikaela had not been able to make verymany friends. All of hers had abandoned her and he only had his best friend Miles to talk to. When she did not answer him right away, he asked again, this time slightly louder. "Lyra?"

Lyra jerked her head up suddenly as she realized she was being spoken to. "Oh, I'm sorry Sam - did you say something?" Her smile, when it came, was quietly embarrassed and her face had turned slightly red. Sam shook his head at her. "I've been calling you a couple of times, Lyra. You seemed to space out there... are you alright?"

Lyra smiled sheepishly at the brown-haired boy before replying. "I'm fine, I just had a weird dream last night and didn't get enough sleep." Her smile softened. "I'm sorry for worrying you Sam."

Sam only shrugged. "It's no big deal. Anyways, we should both get to class. Do you know what classes you'll have?" When she nodded and handed him the paper with her classes on it, he could not resist grinning. She had a lot of the same classes as he and Mikaela did. This was a good thing, since he really wanted to introduce her to Lyra. He blinked and turned back to the girl. "Hey - since we have the same first class, do you want to walk together? I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend." Lyra nodded again and the two of them walked into the building.

As he watched the two walk away, Bumblebee could not help but be glad for the girl's sudden appearance. He had been worried about Sam and Mikaela being able to make friends with members of their own species since the war had ended - now it seemed like things would become easier for his young friends. _'I certainly hope so. The boy needs to socialize more than he does, as does young Mikaela... even Optimus has seen this. Still... I can only hope this young lady will be good for them.'_ The yellow Autobot then settled down to wait for the end of the day when his friends would get out of school.

-

(Inside the school.)

Mikaela waited patiently at her desk for her long-term boyfriend to finally make an appearance. She knew that he would probably stopped to talk to Bumblebee before class, but hoped that he did not stay too long and end up late for their first day of class. Hopefully Bumblebee would keep up with the time and make sure Sam wasn't late. She breathed a sigh of relief when Sam came into the classroom a moment later, but frowned when she saw that he had a girl with him that she had never seen before. Standing up, Mikaela walked over to the pair and gave Sam a quick kiss on the cheek and a friendly smile to the young woman next to him. "Hey Sam, I thought you were going to be here earlier... did something happen?" She then turned to Lyra. "Hey, I'm Mikaela Banes. Are you new here?"

Sam scratched at the back of his head. "I'm sorry, 'kaela, I did get here earlier but then I got to talking with Lyra and..." He shrugged. "Well, she's been a classmate of ours for a while and when she commented about my car... we just sort of started talking, and I forgot about the time."

Lyra grinned. "Sorry to keep him, Mikaela. I parked next to him when I got here this morning and couldn't help but admire his awesome car." She shook her head. "I'm Lyra, by the way." She gave Mikaela a smile before she went to take a seat.

Once she had seated herself across the room from them by one of the nearby windows, Mikaela turned back to Sam. "Who is she Sam? I don't remember having her in any of our classes."

Sam only shrugged. "You didn't know I had classes with you either when we first met. Lyra has been in a few of our classes since the tenth grade. She even remembers my report on my grandfather. She's really nice though, 'kaela... you should try and talk with her. I think you two would really get along."

Mikaela seemed to think about that for a long moment before nodding. "Alright, Sam. I'll give her a chance." She flashed him a brilliant smile. "Who knows? Maybe she'll turn out to be just as special as the boy who asked me to get in the car with him two years ago." Mikaela turned around then and went to sit just to the left of Lyra. She noticed Sam take up his customary seat in front of her, and this caused her smile to brighten. Finally settled, she turned around in her seat so she could continue her conversation with Lyra. Sam was right; after all, they may just get along, and Mikaela knew she needed to make some friends now that Trent and his group no longer spoke with her. It had been that way since she and Sam had come back to Tranquility High School after the battle at Mission City. She did not really mind, though, as the people she used to hang around with had been nothing but shallow jerks who thought of nothing beyond how popular they were. However, she could not speak against them - before meeting Sam and the Autobots, she had been just the same as they were. Shaking her head to clear her mind, she decided to try and get to know the girl beside her a little bit better. "Hey, Lyra?"

Lyra turned at the sound of her name. Seeing it was Mikaela, she smiled brightly. "Hey Mikaela... sorry again for keeping your boyfriend outside for too long. We just got to talking about our cars and school and everything. He really is a nice guy - you're really lucky." She turned scarlet then. "Now I'm blabbering... sorry about that. What was it you wanted me for?"

Mikaela couldn't help but smile at the other teen's attitude. She really was very sweet. "I didn't want you for anything, Lyra, I just wanted to talk." She smiled gently and looked over at Sam for a moment. "You're right though, I am really lucky. Sam's a great guy, and a wonderful boyfriend. We've been through a lot together and I can't imagine having to go through all that on my own." Her pale blue eyes became distant as she thought about the hell she and Sam had gone through to help the Autobots get the Allspark. A hand on her shoulder made her jerk and she looked up to find herself staring into a pair of pale green eyes.

Lyra watched her new friend get lost in her thoughts and, seeing the pain that flashed through her eyes, she placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. "Mikaela? Are you okay?"

This made Sam turn around in his seat. "Mikaela, what's wrong?"

Mikaela only shook her head and brought a hand up to wipe at her eyes. She had almost started crying. "It's nothing Sam, Lyra. I was just thinking about something that made me sad, that's all... sorry for worrying you both."

Neither of them looked convinced, but they dropped the subject. Sam, however, made a mental node to get Bumblebee, Optimus, or perhaps even Ratchet to sit down with Mikaela and talk to her. He knew that they were likely to be able help her. He guessed she was thinking about the war and the loss of Jazz again. He couldn't blame her; he still had nightmares too. The only good thing about this was that it appeared that they had made a new friend in Lyra. He only hoped that nothing happened to change that.

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That's it. What'cha think? As always, please review.

**_Next chapter: Mikeala has a talk with Ratchet and a new danger threatens to reveal the Autobots to Lyra._**


	3. Gaurdian

Finally got the next chapter up. Sorry it took so long, and thanks for all of you who have stuck with me. Another  
big thanks goes out to my ever wonderful beta-reader Blackwing.Rose. You're a lifesaver! Now on to the story.

--------------------------

**Chapter Three:** _Guardian_

The next few hours seemed to pass quickly for the three teens. In fact, once  
the bell had rung, both Mikaela and Sam had darted out of the school as  
quickly as they could, leaving Lyra behind in their haste. The redhead smiled at their  
retreating forms and sighed.

_'Must be nice, to have someone like that. Still, meeting two people that were  
in my dream was a little bit unnerving…but I'm probably just being silly. I  
probably saw them because I remembered them from class. It's no big deal – I  
just have to keep telling myself that.' _

She shook her head again and followed her new friends out of the building.  
When she found them, she saw that they were leaning against Sam's Camaro and  
appeared to be talking to it. Knowing that she was most likely just being  
silly, Lyra sauntered up to the pair quickly and noticed that they stopped  
talking as she did so. She smiled at them as she passed them on the way to her  
own car. "Um...it was nice meeting both of you. I guess I'll see you guys  
around?"

Sam smiled over at her. "Yeah, we'll see you tomorrow, Lyra."

Mikaela nodded her agreement and her smile. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

Lyra smiled back at them before she got into the vehicle and quickly backed  
out of the parking lot to start the drive home. Sam and Mikaela let out a sigh of  
relief once their new friend had gone.

"That was really close, Sam. I've told you it's not safe to talk with 'Bee  
out here, but you still do it – every day." Sam only looked over at her  
guiltily, making her sigh. She knew that no matter how sorry he was for doing this, he  
would still continue to do it, and it drove her crazy sometimes. It made her wonder  
how they continued to work as a couple when he spent more time with his car than with  
her. She shook her head and sighed. "Never mind Sam, let's get going. Don't  
we meet the others today at the Lookout?"

Sam nodded excitedly and both quickly got into the car before he started  
talking. "Yeah, that's right. Optimus said something about new Autobots  
coming to Earth. I'm so excited… I can't wait to meet them."

Mikaela smiled at his over enthusiasm. "I know you're excited Sam, but we  
can't just skip school like we used to. We're seniors this year."

A trill came from the radio followed by a short radio clip. "Don't worry, be  
happy."

Mikaela laughed at this. "Very funny, 'Bee. I'm being serious."

The happy trilling came again and Mikaela gave up on trying to be serious.  
She knew that when they were together, Sam and Bumblebee were nearly  
impossible to control. It gave her a headache sometimes, but they were her  
only ride to school and she couldn't just ignore them. Plus, she loved Sam...didn't she?

She sighed. _'Maybe I should ask one of the others to take me.' _

She shook her head at the thought, vaguely registering the fact that they had  
left the school and were headed for the lookout – meaning Sam would be too  
busy talking to his guardian to notice her being quiet.

_'Yeah, that would work. Bringing a Peterbilt truck to school would go over  
real well. Same with a customized H2 Hummer Ambulance. Ironhide would work but  
he'd never do it. Argh! What am I gonna do? It's at times like this I realize how much  
I really need a car of my own.' _

She was jolted out of her thoughts abruptly when the Camaro came to a halt  
and she was jerked forward. Blue eyes flashed furiously and she turned to a  
clearly embarrassed Sam. "What was that for, Sam?!"

The young man turned scarlet. "Sorry 'Kaela."

A soft warble came out of the Camaro before a slightly hoarse voice came out  
of the radio. "My apologies as well, Mikaela. I forgot myself for a moment."

Mikaela turned confused eyes towards the boy next to her but he only blushed  
harder. Clearly she had missed something. Shaking her head, she decided to  
drop the issue for the time being. "Are we still going to the lookout?"

Both Autobot and boy seemed to let out a sigh of relief at her words and the  
car started moving again. It was not long before they reached their  
destination and Mikaela was only too happy to get out. Her boyfriend was acting weird  
again and she didn't want to be near him until he'd settled down. Not that she  
wasn't used to his behaviour – Sam acted this way every once in a while,  
and so did Bumblebee. In fact, they'd been having these moments more and more often in  
the last few months. It worried her, but she didn't want to upset either of  
them so she left it alone. When they wanted to talk, she would be there to  
listen.

Once both teenagers were out of the car, Bumblebee moved several feet away  
and transformed. He kept his blue optics focused on his young charge for a  
lingering moment before turning to where the other Autobots waited and going  
to address his leader. He still preferred to use the radio to speak and did so  
as he spotted Optimus turned to look at him.

_**"Hey...hey...I said hey...What's going on?"**_

The old leader couldn't help but smile at the antics of his youngest  
soldier. "Hello, Bumblebee… I see you finally made it. Did you speak to the  
children?" Seeing the yellow scout nod, he then turned to speak with the two teens.  
"Good. Now if you two would mind finding a safe place to sit? We must discuss  
what to do from here."

Both nodded, and while Sam went to sit down with his guardian, Mikaela  
remained standing alone to one side, looking at the sun that was  
beginning to sink beneath the horizon. She suddenly felt out of place among  
them…almost like she did not deserve to be there. After all, Sam had saved the  
world; all she had done that had been even slightly helpful was rescuing  
Bumblebee then driving him back into the battle that had destroyed  
Devastator. She smiled sadly, remembering how terrified she had been that day. She would  
never regret it… she just doubted her place sometimes.

Sam finally noticed and looked up at his guardian in concern, gesturing  
towards his girlfriend.

Bumblebee turned and looked over at where Sam had indicated towards, then  
his expression changed to mirror his charge's a moment later, prompting him to  
speak privately to his comrades. _**'Would one of you mind speaking with young  
Mikaela? It appears she is troubled and she doesn't seem to want to speak with either  
myself or Sam.'  
**_  
The Autobots all exchanged worried glances, and it was Ratchet that finally  
answered. _**'I will speak with the youngling, Bumblebee.'**_

Bumblebee relayed this to Sam quietly a moment later and both of them seemed  
to relax. After all, if any of them could figure out what was wrong with  
Mikaela and be able to fix it, Ratchet could. Both cast the medic looks of  
gratitude, to which he offered a solemn nod before quietly going over to  
Mikaela and kneeling down next to her.

When she looked up at him in shock, he offered her a gentle smile before he  
began speaking. "Would you like to tell me what is troubling you, my dear?"

Mikaela couldn't help but smile at the cultured, slightly English-sounding  
accent that the medic had picked up since arriving on Earth. She turned to  
face him and calmly met his gaze. The two locked eyes for a long moment  
before Mikaela sighed and settled down onto the ground. A rumble came a minute  
later, signalling that the Autobot had seated himself. Mikaela watched him as he  
settled, then glanced over at Sam and Bumblebee before looking back out at the  
horizon. After a long moment of silence she finally spoke, her voice soft and  
very sad.

"I...can't.. not here..." She looked back at Sam then back outwards again.

Seeming to understand, the Autobot medic rose and transformed back into the  
Hummer form and opened his drivers side door in a clear invitation. Mikaela  
stared at him in surprise for a few seconds before getting into the seat and  
gently shutting the door. Now at least she didn't have to worry about Sam or  
Bumblebee overhearing their conversation.

Ratchet remained silent while the young woman made herself comfortable in  
his seat. He was a little uncomfortable having her there but did not say so.  
Truthfully, she was the first person he'd let inside his cab since taking  
his new alt-form. A shudder ran through his form a moment later when he felt an  
unfamiliar gentle caress across his dashboard. "Don't... do that."

Mikaela moved her hands immediately. "I'm sorry, Ratchet – I'm used to  
patting 'Bee on the dashboard when he's upset. It's soothing, he said." She  
dropped her hands into her lap and stared down at them, clearly embarrassed.

Ratchet sighed. "It is not a problem, I assure you. I am not angry, but I  
would rather you did not do that again." When she nodded in agreement he  
pressed on. "Now... tell me what it is that upsets you so."

She grew quiet again, this time for such a long time that Ratchet thought  
she might not answer him at all. Finally, she pushed a hand through her long  
black hair and looked back up, her gaze focusing on his steering wheel. "It's  
stupid really. I just..." She dropped her head again before continuing. "So much is  
going wrong. I'm still having those nightmares about Jazz, and Sam has been  
acting strange again. I'm wanting to be serious this year and it's all fun  
and games to them. It's like I don't exist any more! I can't help but think that  
I shouldn't even be here at all! I'm completely useless!" Tears began falling  
down her face as she got more and more worked up.

A low vibration began coming out of the Hummer. He was trying his best to  
soothe her. But he was furious. _'That fool boy did this!'_ Forcing himself  
to calm down, he tried to calm the visibly distressed Mikaela.

"You are many things, Mikaela Banes, but useless is not one of them. You are  
strong, for a human, and very determined when it comes to doing something you  
believe in. You are wise beyond your years as well as a brilliant mechanic. You have  
earned our respect and trust, just as Sam has. You are as much a part of us  
as he has become. Whatever would make you think otherwise?"

Mikaela looked upwards at the steering wheel again. When she spoke, her  
voice was barely above a whisper. "Sam barely sees me anymore. Something is going  
on with him and 'Bee and I'm not sure what. I can't avoid him – he's my only  
ride to school – plus, Sam is my boyfriend. I can't just abandon him. We've  
been through so much together but now I'm wondering if we've been fooling  
ourselves by trying to have any sort of relationship. We make wonderful friends, but  
nothing else. Sam's too focused on his guardian to notice anything beyond  
himself." She trailed off again, not caring how that must have sounded.

Ratchet was silent; he could not believe some of what he had just heard. For  
some reason, Sam being completely oblivious to the pain of the one person he  
claimed to love made the medic furious. He had noticed Bumblebee acting  
oddly but had thought nothing of it. Now, listening to Mikaela, he wondered if he  
should have done so.

Finally coming to a decision, he spoke again. "If you would like, I would not  
mind becoming your guardian. I could give you a ride to school when you needed  
it, too, if that would be agreeable to you."

Mikaela stared at him. "That's...very sweet of you, Ratchet, and thank you  
– but wouldn't it be a little odd to see me coming to school in an ambulance?"

The medic snorted at that. "As if I cannot change my alt-form to something  
more suitable. Now answer me, girl – would you like to have me as your  
guardian?"

Mikaela smiled then and, it even reached her eyes. "Yes. I'd like that – I  
really would."

This made him settle down quite a bit. "Good - I shall arrange it with  
Optimus later. Now, what do you say to rejoining the others?"

Mikaela grinned brightly and nodded as she hopped out of the car.

Sam started when she finally emerged and ran over to her. "You okay now,  
'Kaela?"

Mikaela smiled at him and nodded. "I'm fine, Sam… just needed to get a few  
things off my chest. Ratchet helped out a lot." She grinned as she heard the  
medic transforming up behind her. Tossing her long hair over her shoulder,  
Mikaela went over to her new guardian and sat down with him

Sam smiled as he watched Mikaela settle down. He was glad she was smiling  
again. Now that everything was calming back down, he returned to his  
guardian and smiled up at him.

Bumblebee looked down at his human with a smile and knelt down before  
offering him a hand to climb up into. A moment later, he had Sam safely up  
on his right shoulder.

As soon as he saw that everything had returned to normal, Optimus raised both  
hands for everyone's attention. "Now then, my friends, back to more serious  
matters. We have received word from at least three different signals of Autobots  
heading for Earth. It is unknown which three or when they will be landing,  
so we must keep a close eye out for them."

All those gathered nodded to him, which made him smile before he finally  
continued. "That being said, I've also gotten word that one of our own has  
already made landfall. Unfortunately, we lost contact with one another shortly  
after she entered the planet's atmosphere."

Sam stopped him here "She? It's a female?"

Optimus sighed. "Yes, the Autobot is a femme, or female as you say." He  
noticed the stares he was getting from his team. "It's Chromia."

The ground shook abruptly causing Bumblebee to have to lurch forward to  
catch his charge as Sam was knocked off his shoulder. Ironhide had hit the ground  
in shock. "She's...alive? You're sure it's her?" Prime only nodded. "_**Primus**_,  
Chromia… it's been so long."

Now Mikaela looked confused. "Ratchet, who's Chromia?"

The medic looked down at his new charge. "Chromia is Ironhide's spark mate."  
at her continued confusion, he tried again. "In your terms, his soul mate;  
his other half."

Mikaela made a low 'oh' sound.

Ironhide slowly righted himself. "What else did you find out before you lost  
her? Any idea where she is? What about what alt-form she's chosen?"

Prime nodded. "Before we lost one another, she told me she's been  
temporarily stuck in the form of a dark purple Lamborghini. Apparently, she can't  
transform or change forms either. I lost her before she could tell me her  
location."

Sam and Mikaela looked at one another in shock. Sam was the one to speak up  
first. "Um... guys?" Four sets of optics turned to look at him. "Um... I  
think I may know something that could help.."

Ironhide narrowed his optics at the boy. "Well, what is it?! Spit it out,  
boy!"

Sam jerked and Mikaela and Bumblebee both glared at the weapons specialist.  
"Back off, Ironhide, there's no reason to yell at him. We both saw the same  
thing." Now all optics were on Mikaela. She sighed. "One of the students in  
our class drives a dark purple 2007 Lamborghini. Not sure where she lives  
though. At least it's a clue – maybe it's even the one you're looking  
for."

The clearing grew quiet as the Autobots contemplated the situation. It was  
bad if a civilian had found Chromia. While the femme was in no immediate  
danger, they risked another innocent person finding out their secret.  
Finally, Optimus spoke again. "Until we can be sure, please keep an eye on this  
person, the both of you."

The two teens nodded. The meeting was over then and each of them went their  
separate ways. The next few weeks were certainly going to be interesting.

--------

Finally, I'm finished! Sorry it took me so long, college keeps me busy. As always, please rewiew.

**Next chapter:** _**Decepticons return and Lyra makes an unusual friend.**_


	4. Cons Attack and an Unexpected Suprise

Here's the next chapter, sorry it took me so long. I've had finals and work and a crazy computer that hates me about ninety percent of the time. I'd like to take this time to thank everyone who's reviewed the story thus far, and, as always, thanks and much love goes to my ever-helpful beta Blackwing.Rose.

--

**Chapter Four:** _Decepticon Attack and an Unexpected Surprise_

Several weeks passed by with relative ease for the Autobots and their human companions. Sam and Mikaela had been on 'Lyra duty' a lot of the time, trying to figure out if the other teen's car really was the Autobot femme, Chromia. It didn't help that Ironhide was acting more aggressively towards them than usual. So much so, in fact, that even Will Lennox, Ironhide's friend and charge, stayed well away from him. Even warnings from Optimus himself seemed to have no effect on the weapons specialist, which was why the leader had ordered Ironhide off the base for a little while in the hopes that he'd calm down a bit.

Meanwhile, things with Bumblebee and Sam had gotten so bad that Mikaela had finally told the young man that they made better friends. Sam had agreed with her and the two had broken up. Unfortunately, that meant Mikaela had to sit through even weirder moments between the two, and nothing she said or did made them want to talk with her about it.

Thankfully, Ratchet had taken his duties as her new guardian very seriously and often removed her when things became awkward between the two. He'd had to change his alt-form slightly in order to take her to school so now, though still a neon yellow hummer, the medic no longer looked like an ambulance. For the most part, the arrangement between the two was perfect. Mikaela got a ride to school and someone to talk to in Ratchet, and the medic himself got an avid listener and apt student in the young mechanic.

The only problem with the arrangement was that the medic was finding himself growing ever fonder of his young charge. Mikaela was a brilliant young woman. She was smart and funny and always knew what to say to him whenever he was having a bad day. She was kind and considerate, but wasn't afraid to speak her mind about the things she believed in. She even listened to him as if his opinion really mattered to her, and few did that for him these days.

In other words… in Ratchet's opinion, at least… she was perfect, and wonderful, and deserved so much better than what one such as he could give her.

He'd never admit it to himself or to her, but the Autobot medic was slowly falling for his young charge. He already trusted her with his very spark and knew it was only a matter of time before something happened and his feelings became known. He only hoped that when she found out, she wouldn't hate him.

It wasn't as if his feelings had developed overnight. No, indeed… they'd had about three years to grow without him noticing. And now that she was always with him… always around… he couldn't help but allow the feeling to expand. He adored that girl – really, he did – but his affections would only get her killed. Even with Megatron dead, the Decepticons were still out there, and he'd never forgive himself if Mikaela was killed because of their slagging war.

_'It's foolish to hope, I know… but I can't help but want to keep her. She'd never want me, but, like the old fool I am, I can't stop what's happening to me. For good or bad, that girl holds my spark. Whether she decides to save or destroy me with it has yet to be seen. I can only pray to Primus that it's the former and not the latter. I'd never survive it.' _

**--BREAK--**

Halfway across the city, Lyra was having problems of her own. The dream that she'd had just before meeting Sam and Mikaela had kept coming back to her a lot lately. She'd had the dream the night before, and now that she thought about it, it was really beginning to bother her. What did it mean? Were Sam and Mikaela somehow a part of it… and if so, how?

She couldn't just ask them about it; they'd think she was crazy. Heck, she wouldn't blame them – she thought she was going crazy herself. On top of that, the other two teens had been acting really oddly lately and it was starting to worry her. Sure, they had broken up – they made better friends, anyway – but that wasn't it.

Something else was going on with them – she just knew it. Otherwise, why would they be so insistent they go to _her_ house to do everything all the time? And why else had they been following her around like a couple of vultures? It was odd, and it was beginning to freak her out. She had confronted them about it once, and they'd acted like they didn't know what she was talking about. When she'd asked why they never wanted to go anywhere with her but her house, they had actually looked guilty and apologized for being bad friends. Truthfully, she hadn't brought either of them to her home yet. She didn't know either of them well enough to do so, and when she had told them so, they had stopped asking all the time.

Her other problem was in the form of the police cruiser that was always patrolling around her neighborhood. It wouldn't have been a bad thing, usually – except that it was always the same car that came around. The one with_ 'To Punish and Enslave' _on the side of his car instead of the customary _'To Protect and Serve'. _She wasn't sure why, but that cruiser bothered her immensely.

It probably had something to do with the fact that she never had never seen a driver in the car. Every time she had seen the thing, it had been sitting across the street from her house, empty. She knew it wasn't because he lived at the house there, because the place was condemned and the city was getting ready to tear it down and build a new house in its place. The car made her shiver whenever she saw it sitting there, and it seriously gave her the creeps.

It sat there now as she moved around outside washing her car, and she could have sworn it was watching her. Her dreams came back to her full force and the trembling in her lean form got worse for a moment as the image of malevolent red eyes filled her vision for a moment. She shook her head viciously to clear the image away. Monsters like that weren't real… they couldn't be.

Could they…?

Chromia held perfectly still, all senses on alert as her human caretaker washed her. _'Barricade is here? How? Why? I thought he'd been killed. This is bad… he must suspect it's me, and that's why he won't leave. He knows I can't reveal myself with Lyra here, but it also seems like he doesn't know I can't transform either. I'm thankful for that.' _

She had noticed that her human had started trembling and wondered if the girl had an idea of what ol' 'Cade really was. Lyra hadn't been recharging well lately – that much the femme could tell – but she didn't know why. She wanted desperately to talk to the girl, but didn't want to get her killed if she revealed herself and Barricade found out. The girl was already in danger, but as long as Barricade stayed away from them, Chromia could wait him out. She was a warrior, after all, so someone like Barricade wouldn't take her out so easily. Despite her smaller size, she was a fierce fighter, and whenever she and the 'Con had clashed in the past, it had always ended in a tie – which made her determined to see which of them was really better, one of these days. In the meantime, she would bide her time and see what he would do.

The femme had been on this planet for a short span of time now, and while she had gotten word from Optimus once, she had been unable to contact him again. Her long-range sensors were damaged, along with all communications besides her own voice, and even the system that allowed her to transform was damaged so severely that she couldn't change. On top of that, all of her weapons systems were offline as well – meaning that even if she did have to face Barricade, she'd be hard-pressed not to get herself and her companion slagged. About the only thing that wasn't fragged to the Pit was her connection to the Internet. She let out a low growl of annoyance and froze when Lyra paused in her washing to look at her strangely.

_'Um...oops. Better not do that again.'_

Lyra stared at her car for a moment longer before she just shrugged and finished rinsing the vehicle. She was used to it by now – her car made strange noises every once in a while. She just figured it was the engine settling after she drove it. She had noticed lately, though, that whenever the car did something like that and the police cruiser was nearby, it seemed to growl as if in response. She knew that wasn't possible when the car wasn't even running… but still, it made her wonder. '_Maybe the thing is haunted, and it's like Satan's Saleen or something. That would certainly make sense, and it's more plausible than the car being alive or something like that.' _Though the thought that the car was haunted freaked her out just as much as it being alive, she'd just have to deal with it, she thought, as she headed inside for dry clothes and some lunch.

Chromia sighed inwardly._ 'Phew… that was a close one. I've got to be more careful that this.' _

She knew Ironhide would be laughing hysterically at her antics by now if he could see her. Or maybe not – her spark mate was a tough one to figure out sometimes.

Speaking of Ironhide, she was really starting to miss him, even if she'd never tell the black mech so. Her spark kept reaching out for its mate and coming up against nothing but blackness. She hoped they were just too far away to feel each other. Otherwise, she wouldn't be alive much longer herself. And if the idiot _had_ gotten himself killed, she'd be sure to destroy the one responsible as brutally and as painfully as she could manage before she herself died.

Pushing the dark thoughts away from her mind, Chromia once again focused her remaining sensors on the threat that was Barricade and, if necessary, on protecting her very young human companion.

An hour passed in relative peace at the Onyx household before all hell suddenly broke loose. The sudden blare of sirens followed by a crash brought Lyra out of her house to see what was going on. What she was faced with was a terrifying black monster with red eyes standing in the place the Saleen had once been. Green eyes widening in horror, Lyra let out a terrified shriek and started backing up. This made the thing turn to face her with a look that could only be described as disgust in his blood-colored eyes. When the thing reached its clawed hand down to grab her, her own car revved to life and rammed the thing right in the stomach.

The Lamborghini landed back on the ground then sped over to the terrified young woman, opening the driver's side door. When the teen didn't move, Chromia did what she had to. "Get in!" When Lyra still stood frozen, the femme let out an aggravated growl. "We don't have time for this!" she snapped. "Get in the car, girl. Now! Unless you want me to leave you with ugly there?"

Lyra looked back at the thing that had tried to grab her as it began getting back up and shook her head sharply before diving into the car and yelping when the door slammed behind her and the car sped away. She watched as the monster turned back into a Saleen and, sirens blaring, followed them. She quickly put on her seatbelt and held on for dear life as the car roared through the empty streets of her suburb and into the more populated streets in the heart of Tranquillity itself. Her life now rested in the hands of her talking car.

It took a bit of doing, but eventually they lost Barricade. Chromia slowed down to the speed limit and just drove in silence while listening to the erratic heartbeat of the human inside her. After a long moment, Chromia made a decision and sighed to herself before speaking again to the terrified youngling. "Greetings, youngling. I am Chromia, Autobot hunter and weapons specialist of Elita One's femme unit. What is your designation?"

Lyra squeaked in terror when the car talked to her before she finally registered what the thing had said. She took a chance and, tentatively, answered. "I...I'm L-lyra. Lyra Onyx. A-are you..." she took a steadying breath, "Are you going to kill me now?"

Chromia snorted in amusement at that. "I'm not here to hurt you, little one, I swear. I'm one of the good guys, hun. And now that I'm here, I won't let that pile of slag hurt you. You have my word."

Lyra relaxed slightly, relieved to know that she wasn't going to die. Still, it was a lot to take in. Taking deep breaths to try and settle herself down, she let her curiosity finally get the better of her. "So... Chromia... why was that... thing after me?"

The Autobot sighed. "He wasn't – he was after me. That was Barricade – a Decepticon. It's his job to destroy those like me and you were just in the way. I'm sorry about that, by the way."

Lyra nodded to herself. That made sense to her; at least, a little. It was like she was stuck in the middle of a war or something. That brought her dream to mind again and prompted her to speak without thinking. "If his eyes were red, you must be one of the kind with blue eyes, then."

Chromia swerved a little on the road from shock before righting herself. "What did you just say?" When Lyra opened her mouth to repeat herself, Chromia made an annoyed sound. "Never mind – I heard you. Yes, my optics are blue, but how did you know that?"

Lyra was silent for a long moment, just thinking about whether or not to tell Chromia about the reason she'd mentioned blue eyes. She decided to trust the.. .Autobot… and slowly began to tell her about her dream from the very beginning to the end.

Chromia drove in silence, just listening to her companion talk. To say she was shocked was an understatement. If she was correct, then Lyra knew about things she shouldn't – perhaps even things that hadn't happened yet. A quick Internet search on the ability revealed Lyra to be something referred to as someone with Precognitive Visions. It was an ultra-rare ability that Chromia had only seen in two other individuals. One had been Elita One, the other was Jazz – but even then, it only seemed to happen to them every once in a while. It was how Elita had kept them alive for so long, even when all the other femmes were being hunted down and destroyed on Megaton's orders. How a human youngling came to have the ability she didn't know, but she knew it made her important – and very special.

Realizing she'd been quiet for too long, Chromia spoke up and told Lyra of her suspicions. Lyra's shocked expression said she knew what the femme was talking about, but had never thought about it that way. It meant that the girl's home would be the scene for a battle between the two factions. It also meant that she, and whoever Mikaela was, could be destined to die during that fight. She hoped not – she rather liked her little human.

The pair drove in silence for a long time before Lyra finally couldn't take it any longer and started asking questions. "Chromia… if my dream was of the future, does that mean the one called Optimus really exists?"

Chromia smiled inwardly at the curiosity coming from the human. "Yes; that is what it means. Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots. He is brave and noble, and very kind. You will like him, I think. If I can ever find him, that is…"

Lyra blinked then spoke up. "I could help you find him if you'd like. After all, I sort of owe you one for saving my life back there."

The femme thought about that for a moment then nodded to herself. "Very well. The help would be appreciated. Since you'll be helping me, how about letting me be your guardian? That way, I'll have the help I need and you'll have protection from the likes of Barricade."

Lyra smiled at her. "I'd like that, Chromia. I think you'd make a great guardian."

Chromia smiled inwardly. "It's settled then. I am now your guardian, and you are my charge. I think we'll make a great team." She noticed her new charge's energy levels were low and spoke again. "Now then, get some rest while you can. I'll wake you once we're somewhere safe again."

Lyra nodded once, then almost immediately drifted off to sleep. Whatever happened now, she and Chromia were in it together. Hopefully, they could overcome whatever obstacle was thrown at them.

**--BREAK--**

A shadow moved quickly away from a curtained window before running into the wall beyond and sliding down it. _'What was that thing? Why was it attacking Lyra? What's going on here?!'_

--

Finished! So what do you think about how I did Chromia? And I hope Barricade wasn't to off since he didn't actually have any lines in this chapter. Don't worry though, he will be back again later on.

**Next Chapter:** _Lyra comes face to face with Sam and Mikeala at Chromia's "safe place" and the three of them have a rather revealing talk. Secrets come out into the open and Lyra's life gets even more complicated when she begins meeting the other Autobots. _


	5. Hope For the Future

And here's chapter five of In Dreams. Sorry it took me so long, school keeps me busy and I've had some serious family issues to work through. Thanks always to my beta-reader Blackwing.Rose. Enjoy the story!

Thoughts: _'words'  
_Speaking: "words"  
Com-link: **:words:**

--

**Chapter Five:** _Hope for the Future_

_  
_Chromia pulled up onto the Overlook some time later and settled down there. She did a quick scan as best she could, and determined that this place had remained safe. This was where the message from Prime had originated from, and was her first clue to finding the overly large mech that was the Autobot leader.

The femme knew that Lyra would need to refuel soon, so she didn't intend to remain here long. All she wanted to do was see if she could get a lock on Prime's location. She was so distracted that she didn't notice when a certain yellow Camaro pulled up behind her – until a human male came and knocked on her driver's side window, making her give a yelp of surprise and scaring Lyra awake so abruptly that her head hit the ceiling.

"Ow – damn it! What's going on?!"

She then noticed a familiar young man outside the window, as well as the young woman that was usually with him. "Sam? Mikaela? What?" She quickly got out and hugged her two friends, deliriously happy to be with familiar – and safe – people. She noticed Sam's car idling nearby and wondered briefly about it. After all, Sam _**DID **_talk to his car. She knew some guys did that, but what if it was one of the ones Chromia was looking for? She had to know. "Hey, guys… what are you doing out here?"

Sam shrugged and Mikaela came and hugged her. "We missed you at school today and were worried about you. Are you okay?"

Lyra nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. We just had a terrorist scare down near my home so the entire block had to evacuate. It was really scary." She blinked then as another thing occurred to her. "And what do you mean I missed school? It's not that late, is it?"

Sam nodded in answer to her question and Mikaela hugged her again. "Poor baby – you must have slept right through it. Have you eaten yet? We have leftovers from lunch." She ran over to the Camaro and pulled out a wrapped-up piece of pizza before offering it to Lyra.

Lyra was about to protest the offering when her stomach chose that moment to make the decision for her and growled loudly. The young woman blushed and took the pizza before opening it and digging in. "Guess I am hungry… thanks guys." She leaned against the nose of her guardian, clearly still in shock from the night before.

Bumblebee took in the appearance of the young woman talking to his charge and Ratchet's. He didn't know much about human illnesses, but the girl's pale countenance and trembling body spoke volumes for her physical and mental well-being. Besides that, the scout swore he'd heard her car yelp when Sam had knocked on the window. Could this female youngling be housing one of their own? And if so, why hadn't she come forward? It was obvious to him that Lyra wasn't telling the truth about why she was there… so what had happened? He couldn't ask, so he couldn't know, but he could hint at Sam and Mikaela.

_"Alyssa lies... to the classroom… you lie... you don't wanna hurt me… this is me you're talking to… wake up and pay attention."_

Sam and Mikaela looked over at him with a glare and Lyra looked thoughtful. Sam, he knew, usually understood what he was trying to say. His suspicions proved correct when he saw his human incline his head a little and look over at Lyra again. "Are you sure you're okay? A terrorist scare wouldn't have you out here in the middle of nowhere. If they'd made you leave, they'd have sent you to a hotel or something."

Mikaela nudged him for being rude. "Sam!"

He only looked at her. "What?"

Lyra glared at him. "It's none of your business, Sam." She headed back for Chromia's open door and settled back into the seat. She noticed the femme seemed to growl when Sam came near her again and she quickly nudged the headboard with her foot to make her stop.

Instead, Chromia had an idea of her own. She wanted to see if the nearby Camaro was a fellow Autobot or a Decepticon. He had a charge, so the former was more likely… but she had to be sure. She could tell he wasn't normal, though – so she'd try communicating his way. First, however, she sent a quick text to Lyra. _'I'm going to try something. Be ready in case this is a trap.' _Lyra nodded so the femme went ahead.

_"__**I heard you**__, the first ten times that you told me… __**I'm a soldier**__, __**wounded**__ so I... must give up the fight… in my life.. .I've seen heartache and pain. Do you ever miss the __**girl you left behind**__?" _

Lyra held her breath as her guardian fell silent.

Sam and Mikaela, meanwhile, kept an eye on Bumblebee. What would he do now?

As it turned out, the young Autobot decided to greet this newcomer in a rather unique way.

_"I'm bringing home a baby __**Bumblebee**__…"_

Lyra felt Chromia sink down onto her shocks in relief before she answered the youngling. _"Mama __**Mia**__!"_

Bumblebee warbled happily and finally spoke to the new arrival. He knew it had to be her – she was the only one who'd play music tag with him besides Jazz. "Hello, Chromia – and welcome."

Lyra's eyes grew wide. "Oh-my-gosh! It's another one! Thanks for the warning, Chromia!"

The femme only sighed. "Sorry, Lyra – hello, little 'Bee." She was equally delighted to see the youngling as he obviously was to see her.

Mikaela and Sam looked equally shocked. "I knew it! You're the one they're looking for!" Sam jumped up and down excitedly.

Mikaela only rolled her eyes. "Optimus and the others have been looking for you. You've got to come with us."

Chromia gave a sound of consent and allowed the youngling to lead the way once his charges had settled down. This was going to be interesting – that was for sure – but as long as her charge was safe, and she herself was returned to full fighting strength, things would be fine.

As they headed out, Bumblebee sent a quick message to Optimus. **:Sir, I am returning to base with the children and I do not come alone. I have found Chromia. She's badly damaged, but it's not life threatening. It's the reason she has been unable to contact us, and why we couldn't locate her even with Ratchet's abilities. Tell Ratchet to be ready – I'm bringing her to him – and for Primus's sake sir, tell Ironhide.:**

All was silent before the simple return came. **:Understood, and good job.:**

**--BREAK--**

An hour had passed, then an hour more and still there was no sign of Bumblebee with the children. This made for some worry for one be-smitten guardian. So to say that Ratchet was worried for one Mikaela Banes would be a vast understatement.

The medic was currently in his bi-pedal mode, pacing the length of his med-bay for a least the thousandth time and violently cursing his lack of foresight in this matter. He'd been busy working on something for Optimus when the time had come to get Mikaela from school, so he'd asked Bumblebee, who was already there waiting for Sam, to bring her to the base with him. The youngling had had no problem with the request, and had even informed him when he'd picked both teens up successfully. In fact, everything had gone smoothly up until the time he heard Sam say something to Bumblebee while the youngling was on the comm., informing him of his position. During that particular call, the boy had told his guardian quite suddenly to slow down and then turn around. He'd seen something on the lookout and wanted to investigate. That had been the last he'd heard from them.

Just when he was about to pull an Ironhide and destroy something in frustration, Optimus entered the med-bay and cautiously called the medic's name. Clearly, he was unsure of his welcome, and even the great Prime knew to stay far away when Ratchet was in a foul temper.

"Er… Ratchet?"

The Autobot medic turned his entire body around to face his leader and levelled enquiring cobalt optics at his leader; hoping the other mech had the news he was so hoping for. "Yes, sir?"

The larger mech shifted a bit before revealing the reason he was there. "I just received word from Bumblebee. He's en-route and he's got company." The expression on the leader's face told Ratchet he was either amused or relieved by this fact.

All the tension promptly drained out of the medic at his words. The youngling was returning with his charge. But who was Bumblebee bringing with him? He asked just that a moment later. "Sir, who is it accompanying Bumblebee? Obviously it's not an enemy from your expression."

Amusement lit the leader's optics, making them glow brighter. "Chromia."

Ratchet's own optics widened. "You're sure? I've been unable to sense her. I thought... we all thought..."

Optimus nodded. "I know, old friend, but it is true. Bumblebee confirmed it, and told me she was also severely damaged, and that he'd be bringing her here to you so she could be treated. He told me that most of her damages are the reason she's been unable to contact us, and for why we've been unsuccessful in finding her."

Ratchet opened his mouth to ask the next obvious question but a gesture from Prime stopped him.

"I've already informed Ironhide about this. He and Captain Lennox are on their way here as we speak. Bumblebee should arrive with Chromia shortly, so be ready."

Finally Ratchet nodded and turned to get the necessary tools ready. "Yes, sir… I'll be ready. You just go out and greet them – I'm sure Chromia has much to tell us of her journeys." Having said what was needed, he shooed his commander out of the med-bay and continued preparing for their new arrival.__

**--BREAK--**

Will Lennox clung to the Ironhide's armrest for life as his guardian and long-time friend sped through the streets at a reckless, breakneck pace. Under normal circumstances, seeing his gruff and grouchy friend like this would have been funny – but since he was with him, it was nothing but dangerous. "Ironhide! Slow down – you'll get us killed! What's the hurry, man?! Is it the kids? Are they in trouble?" A low growl and the revving of the engine were his only answers. This made him even more worried. "Ironhide, answer me!" When he still didn't get an answer, he kicked the dash as hard as he could and yelled. **"IRONHIDE! ANSWER ME YOU GIANT FRAGGING SLAGGER!!"  
**  
That did it. The Topkick actually slowed down too. "Lennox, you...did you just call me a _'giant fragging slagger'_?" He sounded vaguely amused about that, but also annoyed.

Lennox only glared harder, hiding his embarrassment over picking up some of his companions less-than-pleasant language. "I did. So what? You should have answered me the first time." He sighed, settling down some. "Now tell me what's wrong, Ironhide… please. You're my friend, and I'm worried."

The Autobot slowed his pace more, now going at the legal speed limit again. "Sorry, Lennox."

The apology was so low and gruff that Will almost didn't catch it, but when he figured it out, he smiled. "S' okay buddy. Now tell me what's going on."

A low, grumbling sigh issued from the Autobot. He was silent for a long moment, before – very slowly – he began to explain. "The younglings are fine… they're not in danger."

Will let out a sigh of relief for that small favor, but remained quiet. Ironhide wasn't done.

"**Primus**... it's just... Chromia..." Seeing that his human looked confused, he grudgingly admitted the very personal information. "She's my... spark mate."

Will didn't know exactly what that meant, but he had an idea. "So, like me and Sarah?"

The Autobot snorted. "Hardly, but that may be the most accurate approximation I can give you."

The soldier wasn't offended by this companion's gruff manner. He was used to it by now. "Okay, so this Chromia... what about her? Did she die?"

Ironhide's spark faltered for a second at the words. He couldn't reach her, but he'd tried; Primus only knew, he'd tried. But the youngling had said he was bringing her – ALIVE. He had to believe him – the alternative was to face the vast emptiness that came from their severed bond. He wasn't aware he'd made a sound of denial until he heard Lennox's voice cut through his thoughts.

_**"Ironhide!"**_

The Autobot weapons specialist brought his mind back into focus. "Sorry, just... no... she's..." He couldn't make himself finish; couldn't make himself hope. "I don't know." He saw Lennox shake his head sadly.

"Sorry, 'Hide – didn't mean it like that. So... someone found her, then? Or says they did – is that it?" When he received a growling sound of assent from his friend, Will settled back into his seat. "Well, I'm sure she's alive, your Chromia… but that won't help you if you get yourself killed going too fast. Take it easy, friend. I know you're anxious, but cool your jets."

A pause came from the Autobot before he commented. "Lennox, you know I don't have jets, so how could I cool them?"

This made the soldier start laughing at his companion's literalness. "It's a figure of speech, Ironhide. I thought I told you about those."

An embarrassed harrumph was his answer. The rest of the ride was much calmer, and Lennox kept his partner's mind occupied by telling him about his daughter Annabelle, and how big she was getting. It served to keep him calm the remainder of the time it took them to get to the base. Lennox quickly hopped out of his larger companion and Ironhide quickly transformed and headed for where Optimus was waiting at the entrance.

"Optimus?" It was obvious what he was asking.

The leader shook his head. "They haven't arrived yet, though I expect they'll be here soon."

His words proved true when, a moment later, Lennox began waving his hands to get their attention. "Hey, 'Hide! Is that them?"

The pair turned and saw a large cloud of dust rapidly approaching from the distance.

It was them.

**--BREAK--**

Chromia sped up as they neared what she guessed was Autobot headquarters. She couldn't help it – she was excited about arriving. Even more so once she spotted a certain black mech standing next to who could only be Optimus Prime himself. The other with him, though he looked different from when they'd last laid optics on each other, was Ironhide. She'd know the mech anywhere, and the moment she saw him, she let out a whoop of elation and laughed joyfully. Her spark mate… her partner… just... **HERS**. She'd missed him terribly, and from how quick he transformed back into a black Topkick and took off for her side, she could tell he felt the same.

Ironhide sped up as he neared the dark purple Lamborghini that his mate had chosen for her alt-form and then blazed right past her before turning quickly around, throwing up a large cloud of dust, and coming up next to her. Primus, how he'd missed her. On his way past her this time, he gently gave her an affectionate nudge. With that little touch, their bond flared abruptly to life, and he could finally _feel_ her again.

**:Chromia!: **He felt a wave of relief and delight course through him from their bond. He also heard her let out another joyful whoop as she sped up past him. then slowed down to drive next to him. It took him a moment to realize what she was doing. _'Primus! She's _**playing**_ with me. Never thought I'd be glad to do this.'_ He was, though, and joined her in her game a moment later.

Chromia felt her mate's warmth and affection flood her from his side of the bond and smiled to herself. She was surprised and delighted that he was playing with her; normally it wasn't like her gruff mate, and she revelled in it and their renewed bond. Whatever had been blocking it was gone now – like it had never been. The femme forgot about everything else but the road in front of her and her mate's presence so close to her. Her spark soared at its mate's closeness and she felt an answering pulse from Ironhide's own spark. **:Ironhide! I found you! At last!:  
**  
She was so far gone in the renewing bond that she completely forgot about her very anxious charge still sitting in her front seat.

**--BREAK--**

Bumblebee pulled past the two and came to a stop near where Optimus waited. He opened both doors and let his passengers out before transforming himself and watching the odd spectacle that was Chromia and Ironhide. He noticed that Sam and Mikaela looked really amused, and his human was even covering his mouth so he wouldn't laugh. Mikaela spotted him watching them and smiled brightly up at him, which made him tilt his head to the side and give his version of a smile in return. The femme then nudged Sam, who was at her side.

"Sam, stop it – don't laugh! I think it's cute. They look like they're playing."

The cultured voice of their medic was what answered her. "That would be because that is exactly what they _are_ doing, my dear."

Mikaela eeped in surprise before turned to firstly glare, and then grin at her guardian. "Hiya, Ratchet. Sorry we're late… but as you can see, we have a good reason."

The medic looked out at the pair for a long moment before smiled down at his charge. "It's quite alright, Ms. Banes. I know your absence was not intentional."

The teen rolled her eyes at his comment. "Ratchet, for the last time – it's Mikaela. Say it with me: Muh-Kay-Luh. I told you not to call me Ms. – it's weird."

He only inclined his head. "Very well then, Mikaela… I shall do as you say, then."

Mikaela opened her mouth to say something before realizing something and gasping. "Oh no! I completely forgot!" She looked over at Sam, who looked confused for a moment before his expression abruptly mirrored hers.

Ratchet looked down at his distressed young charge in concern and heard an equally concerned warble from Bumblebee about his own charge. "What is it, my dear? Is something wrong?"

Mikaela shook her head, then nodded. "Yes! I-I mean no. I mean... oh man, this is bad."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, like really bad."

Now Optimus too stepped forward as the urgency in their tones increased. "What has happened you two?"

Both went silent for a long moment before exchanging a look. It was Mikaela that finally answered them. "You guys remember us telling you one of our friends at school had a car that matched Chromia's description?" When all three nodded, she continued. "Well, her name is Lyra, and Chromia _WAS _her car. She's in her front seat right now. We don't know how she found out about Chromia – neither would tell us."

Alarm spread across the leader's face for a moment, then sad resignation. "Very well… we will just have to watch her too, then." The other two Autobots with him nodded in agreement.

Lennox picked that moment to come back out of the base. "Hey guys – why the sad face?" Then he spotted Ironhide. "That must be Chromia. He looks happy to see her." The soldier just shrugged at the fact before turning to listen to Sam and Mikaela as they explained the problem again. He scratched the back of his head. "Well, the way I see it, if Chromia brought your friend with her, she has to have a good reason. Just accept that, and we'll figure the rest out as we go." His comment seemed to calm the two teens.

Seeing that Lennox was handling the two distressed younglings, Ratchet finally decided to see to Chromia. **:Ironhide, bring Chromia here. She's damaged and I need to see to her.:**

The medic felt his old friend start before replying. **:Ratchet... she's...: **He paused for a moment. **:Alright… we're coming.: **The Topkick turned again and headed back for the base and Chromia quickly followed him, obviously wanting to stay close.

They quickly re-entered the base and Ironhide swiftly transformed before coming to a stop next to Ratchet.

Chromia took a slower approach and didn't transform, which seemed to bother Ironhide, but the femme still slowed to a stop and opened her driver's side door before speaking. "Ironhide, Optimus, everyone - this is Lyra Onyx, a very good friend of mine, as well as my new charge. She's a very special youngling and I expect you all to be kind to her."

Lyra's eyes were wide as she looked up at each of the Autobots – Optimus in particular, since he was so large. "Oh... my... GOSH! Chromia, there's more of them!" She immediately ran back to Chromia's still-open door, dived back into the relative safety the femme offered, then reached out and quickly shut the door behind her.

Chromia winced from having her door closed to hard and, after making a vaguely annoyed sound, started warbling soothingly at her frightened charge.

Ironhide growled loudly at the human and moved to remove her from Chromia.

**:Don't even think about it, Ironhide. I won't let you hurt her. It's not her fault she's scared – I would be too, if I was her size and faced down Barricade unarmed and survived. Just take it easy, lugnuts, and give me a chance to calm the poor girl: **

She couldn't blame the youngling for being afraid. She'd faced down Barricade after all, and for one of her kind, meeting a Cybertronian for the first time was a little overwhelming. "It's alright… they won't hurt you. I promised to protect you, didn't I? Trust me, these guys are friends. Come on out, cutie – I've got your back."

For a long, tense moment, nothing happened, and Lyra remained right where she was. Then the door opened up a crack and the Autobots got a glimpse of anxious, frightened, pale green eyes peeking out from under dark red bangs. She was putting a lot of trust in Chromia's word – that much was obvious. Especially since she was so frightened at that moment. Still...she was trying.

Normally it was Jazz that helped in this sort of situation, but with him now gone, it was Bumblebee that decided to take action. The yellow mech knelt down near Chromia's slightly open door and let out a soothing warble and a quick clip of music. _"Hey, pretty baby with the high heels on!"_

Much to Chromia's relief, Lyra giggled at the youngling's antics. _**:Way to go, Bumblebee – keep at it!:**_

Seeing that she'd liked that, Bumblebee played a similar clip. _"Nobody holds a candle to me, in my red high heels." _Again laughter greeted him and he clapped his hands together happily.

The door opened a little more and Lyra cautiously stuck her head out. "You know… now I have the image stuck in my mind of you wearing high heels."

Mikaela immediately started laughing at Bumblebee's expression. He looked so surprised. She decided to help him out. "It's alright, Lyra. I know they're huge, but they really won't hurt you. Sam and I even have guardians among them. Like Chromia protects you. I won't say they're harmless, but they really won't try and eat you or anything."

Sam nodded in agreement with her, and so did Lennox.

Her comment made Lyra grin. She opened the door the rest of the way and slowly stepped out of the car, though she kept the door between herself and the rest of the Autobots.

Chromia sighed in relief. "See now – they won't hurt you, and those three seem to trust them. Won't you give them a chance?"

Lyra looked at her guardian, then over at Sam and Mikaela. "A-alright, I'll trust you. Just... don't squish me or anything, okay?" Her comment earned her a chuckle from several of the Autobots, but they all still nodded at her request. Even Ironhide seemed to have calmed down. The young woman then slowly crept out from behind Chromia's open door and over towards where Sam, Mikaela and Lennox were standing. Chromia left her door open until her charge made it over to Mikaela, and the other girl wrapped a comforting arm around her.

Lyra smiled weakly at her friends, making Sam, too, reach and put an arm around her. "You'll be alright. Mikaela and I are here to help you. Okay?" When she nodded, he offered her a gentle smile of encouragement.

Chromia, meanwhile, closed her opened door and rolled over to Ratchet. "I need your assistance, medic. I suffered some damage when I arrived and have been unable to fix it on my own."

The medic nodded. "Very well – come this way, if you would. Ironhide – you may join us." He began leaving, with Chromia in tow.

That was all the larger mech needed before he quickly strode after the two. This left Lyra alone with the rest of the Autobots.

Bumblebee shifted from his spot and moved to kneel again next to the young woman, allowing her to get a closer look at him from a position she felt safe in. "I wish to introduce myself." He looked at Sam to see if he was doing this correctly. When his human nodded in encouragement, he continued. "They call me Bumblebee. I am Sam's guardian." He noticed she was no longer looking at him, and followed her gaze to their leader.

Lyra looked up at the very familiar form of the being from her dream and slowly met his gaze. Her voice was very quiet as she spoke. "You... you're Optimus, aren't you?"

The leader looked surprised by her comment, but inclined his head in answer to her enquiry. "Yes – I am Optimus Prime. But how is it that you know this, little one? We have never met… so how could you?" He also wanted to know why the tone she was using was so familiar to him. He'd heard it before… but from where?

Lyra pulled away from the grip of her two friends and took a step towards the leader. "I saw you... you were... you were..."

She didn't finish as Mikaela got hands on her and gave her a very firm shake. **"Lyra!"**

The young woman blinked once, then again, before her vision came back into focus. "Huh? What? Mikaela, what's wrong?"

Sam came up on her other side. "You were seriously spacing there for a moment. It was freaky."

Mikaela nodded. "Yeah, it really was. You alright, sweetheart?"

Lyra nodded. "I'm just fine – that's been happening to me a lot lately." Her eyes widened. "I mean... oh no!" She covered her face with her hands. What were they going to think of her now?

The two looked at one another, then over at the remaining Autobots, before reaching out and putting Lyra between them in a hug. "It's okay, sweetheart… we don't think it's weird. Our closest friends are giant alien robots, remember?"

Sam nodded in agreement. "Yeah, c'mon – you can tell us. What just happened? How'd you know the big guy's name?"

Bumblebee trilled out at her_. "Don't you worry 'bout a thing… and I'll be…right here waiting for you"_ Then he spoke aloud. "You can tell us, Lyra."

Lyra smiled faintly and peeked out. "Really?" They all nodded, even Lennox. "Alright, but you'll think it's weird." She paused for a moment and slowly began to explain. "I sometimes get these... these dreams. I don't always understand them, but Chromia says they're visions, not dreams. She told me I was like someone named Elita. She called me special, and while I don't really believe that, I know what I saw."

Optimus looked shocked. Like Elita... that would explain why her behavior was so familiar. Elita, too, used to get visions – it was why her femme unit had survived and thrived for so long. His former bond mate had spoken to him of her ability once before, and had even helped Jazz learn to control the ability when he'd suddenly developed it. She'd told him it was something that either Primus gave them from birth, or an ability granted by the All Spark for an important reason. Elita had had it from birth; Jazz had gained it after saving the life of a femme named Arcee. None of them knew why it had happened, and Jazz had never questioned it, or really talked about it. It was why, when he asked you not to do something, you listened. Prime always wondered why his old friend hadn't foreseen his own death – and, if he had, why he hadn't tried to stop it. All part of the All Spark's design, he supposed. That aside, how had a human femme come to have the ability? He knelt down to get a better look at the youngling.

"Tell me, little one… how long have you had this ability?"

Lyra looked over at him for a long moment as if sizing him up. Finally, she shrugged and answered him. "Let's see... just before school started, I guess. Why?"

Optimus shook his head. So it had been given to her for a reason. Only time would reveal why. "I was just curious, young one… it's nothing to worry about."

She looked at him strangely. "Lyra. My name is Lyra."

The leader blinked, and then gave a half smile. "Lyra..."

She nodded and smiled back at him. "Right, so quit calling me things like 'little one' and 'young one'. Use my name, okay? I use yours."

The leader nodded and scratched at the back of his head. He realized he may have just insulted her. "My bad. I'll do that."

She grinned again. "Good. Now someone get me some chow – I'm starving."

Lennox perked up at this. "Just where I was going. C'mon you three – let's feed you. Besides, Lyra looks like she needs some food and a nice long nap." The trio headed inside to eat then, leaving the two Autobots to themselves.

**--BREAK--**

By the time Ratchet had finished with Chromia and she had finally located her wayward charge, the girl was sound asleep on one of the couches one of the others had brought for the humans. She looked exhausted, and Chromia was glad to see that she was getting some rest. Quickly transforming back into her alt-mode, she didn't hesitate to enlist the nearby Prime's help. **:Sir, would you please place her in my back seat so she may rest?:**

The leader inclined his head and gently scooped up the sleeping young woman, carefully depositing her into Chromia's back seat as requested.

**:Thank you sir. Goodnight.:**

He inclined his head again. **:And to you, Chromia. Welcome back.: **He then walked off, hopefully to recharge himself.

Ironhide pulled up next to her just as she'd shut her door, and began to settle down for some recharge himself. **:Chromia?:**

The femme smiled inwardly at her mate's unspoken question.** :I'm getting ready to recharge. You are welcome to stay next to me.:  
**  
He seemed to relax at her words, and then both of them drifted off into recharge.

--

That's it. Like it or Hate it? Please review.

**Next Chapter:** _A new problem arises that none of the Autobots expect._


	6. An Unexpected Development

And here's chapter six of In Dreams. Thanks to everybody that's taken the time to review this story and I appreciate all of your kind words. Thanks always to my oh-so-wonderful beta-reader Blackwing.Rose.

Remember, I own nothing except Lyra, Kat, and this idea. Everything else belongs to Michael Bay and Hasbro. Also, if you're a little confused about where Kat came from, reread the end of chapter four carefully. You'll spot where she comes in.

Thoughts: _'words'  
_Speaking: "words"  
Com-link: **:words:**

--

**Chapter Six: **_An Unexpected Development  
_

It was several hours later when Lyra next came to. The first thing she noticed was that the nearby Ironhide was snoring; the second was that her cell phone was ringing. Letting out a startled yelp, she quickly sat up and began searching for the source of the ringing. She thought it had been left at her home – but apparently not. She could hear sounds that told her that Chromia was stirring herself and, not wanting to wake up her guardian, finally located her cell and turned it on. "Hello?"

What greeted her was the near hysterical rambling of her oldest friend.

"Lyra! Oh my gosh! I was so worried about you! I've been trying to get a hold of you for days! That-that-that...thing was trying to eat you or something! What _was_ that thing, anyways – some sort of android on steroids?!"

Lyra gasped and sat straight up, now fully awake. "Hold on, honey – I lost the phone." She turned the phone over and began patting the dashboard. "Chromia, wake up! I think we have a problem."

The femme was up in an instant, all of her senses on alert. "What is it? Another Decepticon attack?"

Lyra only shook her head, her face pale.

Chromia growled lowly before demanding, "Then what the frag is the matter?"

Lyra made a shushing sound at her then mouthed the words _'Just listen to this'_. She then picked the phone back up. "Kat? You still there? I'm sorry… I was so startled I dropped the phone."

A slightly high-pitched feminine voice that Chromia didn't know answered her. "I-I'm here Lyra. Please... tell me what's going on. That thing was at your house. It looked like a police cruiser and turned into a monster! Are you alright? Are you hurt? Do your parents know where you are? Do you have a safe place to stay?" The poor girl sounded like she was crying and, Chromia thought bemusedly, she probably was. Given the situation they were in, she couldn't say that she blamed her.

Lyra shifted in her seat and made soothing sounds at her friend. "It's alright, sweetheart. I'm just fine, really. It didn't get me – didn't even touch me. Yes, I have a safe place to stay, and no, my parents don't know. They're on vacation, remember?" She sighed, and then made a quick decision. "Kat, where are you right now?"

The line was silent for a long moment as the young woman calmed herself. "Um... I'm at home. Why?"

Lyra looked at the steering wheel and asked her guardian a silent question.

Chromia snorted in answer. "Oh, no. Uh-uh. I've got enough to worry about as it is. Besides, it's not safe to go back there."

Lyra shook her head adamantly. "But Chromia, she's terrified, and she's my best-friend. I can't just leave her. What if he comes back?"

A quiet voice called from the line again. "Lyra? Are you still there?"

She quickly answered. "Yeah, I'm here. I'm coming to get you, Kat. It's not safe for you there."

"Why? What's going on?"

Lyra shook her head again. "I can't explain it right now, sweetheart. Just get some things together from home and get some things for me, too – you have a key."

After a moment's hesitation, the other girl answered. "Okay Lyra, if you say it's important, I'll get what you need. Be careful, though, okay?"

Lyra nodded, then realized her friend couldn't see it and spoke. "Alright – I promise I'll be careful. You just keep your head down – I'm on my way." The two hung up and Lyra focused her attention back on Chromia. "We have to get her, Chromia. She's in just as much danger as I am." Seeing that the femme wasn't budging, she tried another method. "Please, Chromia? I can't abandon her… we've been through so much together."

Finally, the Autobot femme caved. "Alright, alright. We'll go and get her. But you'd better make it quick – I'm in no condition to fight off Barricade right now. Ratchet would kill me."

Lyra nodded and then buckled back up as Chromia backed up and turned to head back the way they'd come. She was trying to sneak away without waking up the other Autobots… especially Ironhide.

Unfortunately, as they passed, they did wake one of the others; Ironhide, as a matter of fact. **:Chromia?:**

The femme sighed. **:Go back to your recharge, lugnuts – I'll be back soon. I have to do something for Lyra.:**

The large black Topkick rumbled in response. **:Don't...: **He didn't want her to leave again. It was her spark mate's way of telling her that he was afraid she'd disappear again. He'd never admit such a thing out loud, of course – he wasn't that kind of mech. But she knew, just the same… she felt the same way he did, after all.

This made her smile inwardly. **:Don't worry so much, lover. I'll be back. It's just a simple retrieval – nothing dangerous. I promise I'll come back before the sun comes up. In the meantime, don't cause any trouble without me, okay? Oh, and tell Optimus I went to get sustenance for my human. He'll accept that.:**

Though he was obviously still apprehensive about letting her leave, she felt his acceptance of her promise along their spark bond. He knew she'd return, simply because she'd said she would. If nothing else, he trusted her.

Sighing, Chromia went back into gear and started again on her way. All the femme could hope for was that this wouldn't get both her and her little charge killed.

--

That's it. What did you think? Please review.

**Next Chapter: **_New arrivals come from both sides and a Decepticon attack. Plus Lyra has another vision._


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